Objective SCHWEDEN
I flew yesterday, traversing the route of my daily constitutional four minutes faster than I'd walked the same distanced on Thursday last. Admittedly, Thursday's time was about a minute faster than usual, due to puddle-avoidance delays & modifications to the route, but that still put yesterday's time a full three minutes faster than the circuit average. I felt as if I was flying the entire time, my pace quick & my feet light as I pushed, pushed, pushed. Today, I went faster still, a minute quicker than yesterday's record time! Initially, my legs felt heavy, like lead, but I pushed through the discomfort & it faded then vanished when I was about one quarter of the way along my route. I powered through that initial sluggishness & at several points along the circuit had to fight the curious urge to break out into a run. The best news of all, better than the pace or the desire to go faster yet, was the welcome return of an old friend. Whenever I felt myself starting to lose pace I heard calling out from the back of my mind a small voice, the familiar, adamantine will that fueled the "S.K.P. Machine" of yore, a voice so long silent but never gone entirely. I smiled through the lion's share of today's daily constitutional, moreso in the middle & at the end than in the beginning, recalling to mind those halcyon days of yore when I reveled in physical exertion, when I was fat but also undeniably an athlete.

Operation ÖSTERREICH
I am enjoying my out-of-doors daily constitutional more than I've ever enjoyed running on a treadmill; girded as I am now to resist the depredations of the Accursed Sun, outdoors would seem to be the way to go. Preparations shall have to be made for enduring should this glorious sensation persist into the fall & the winter. I have always longed to return to the pool, but frankly I'm just not fit enough to swim as intensely as my memories insist I must. They are persistent in their refusal to acknowledge that I was seventeen fifteen years ago, that a thirty-two-year-old man can't be expected to put in the same yards or swim at the same pace. For the nonce, I walk, soon enough to jog & to run. In time, I hope swimming will be the fruit of these labors.

My intake of fruits & vegetables has increased in the past fortnight. For the past few days I've also done a much better job of cutting back on the cheese & the various snack chips/crackers. All to the good if these trends continue & become institutionalized.

Autobahn
I spied a pair of Dodge (Alfa Romeo) Darts this afternoon on I-75, much as I several times spied pairs of Fiat 500s last summer or the summer before. (Chrysler's headquarters are less than half an hour to the south via 75, in Auburn Hills.) The Dart looked very different than it did this winter at the North American International Auto Show, but that's the be expected given the vagaries of light & vantage point. Neat!

Also today, I saw a hardtop B.M.W. Z3. I'm no fan of cabriolets (beware the Accursed Sun!), but I will never understand why anyone would want to put a hardtop on a motorcar that was designed to be a roadster.

The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Lit, "Four" from A Place in the Sun (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary:

"Yeah, she doesn't think we're gonna make it,
But when I'm home we're sleeping' naked,
And we pretend that we're in love."

Dienstag, 15 Mai
John Williams, "Theme from Jurassic Park" from Jurassic Park: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (T.L.A.M.)